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Contact: Deborah Turcotte, Spokesperson
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333


Telephone: work (207) 287-6008 cell (207) 592-1164

Fax: (207) 287-6395

April 29, 2009

Conservation Partners, Towns Team to Ensure Safe Piping Plover Nesting Season

Augusta, Maine – Towns and organizations interested in the preservation of Piping Plovers, endangered species in Maine, have partnered to ensure the shorebirds will successfully nest and raise their chicks to adulthood.

Piping Plover

The towns of Wells, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough have joined the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Audubon, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, USDA Wildlife Services’ Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, The Nature Conservancy, Bates College, Cabela’s, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, and supportive beachfront landowners to form a community-based team that is dedicated to the protection of Piping Plovers in Maine.

The Piping Plover is a small, sand-colored shorebird that nests on beaches from Newfoundland to South Carolina. Although once common on sandy beaches in southern Maine, it now is considered imperiled throughout much of its range and is listed on the state’s Endangered Species List, and is a Threatened Species on the national level.

In 2008, only 22 pairs of Piping Plovers nested in Maine – the lowest number in 17 years. Piping Plover numbers steadily increased during the 1990s, reaching 66 pairs in 2002. Habitat loss due to development and storms, such as the 2007 Patriot’s Day nor-easter, coupled with human disturbance, wild animal predation such as by foxes, and the increased presence of dogs on beaches are the primary factors for a decline in nesting pairs.

“The recent, precipitous decline of Piping Plovers in Maine is alarming, and it requires intervention by people and communities who strongly desire to share their beaches with these fragile shorebirds,” according to IF&W Wildlife Biologist Lindsay Tudor. “We’re at the point now, at the start of nesting season, that if action isn’t taken to protect Piping Plovers, they may soon disappear from Maine.”

Piping Plovers are in the process of returning to Maine beaches in the hopes of establishing a nesting territory, finding a mate, and successfully raising their chicks.

“With the help of this conservation team, and the management and protection activities they are committed to, along with the cooperation of beachfront landowners and beachgoers, perhaps the plovers will have a chance to mount a comeback,” Tudor said.

Anyone in these coastal towns can become a Piping Plover protector. Here’s how to be a responsible beachgoer on Piping Plover nesting beaches:

Respect fenced and/or posted areas for Piping Plovers and other wildlife. Do not move or tamper with the fences.

Keep dogs or any other domestic animal that is brought to the beach away from Piping Plover nesting areas and keep the animals on a leash at all times.

Remove your trash from the beach and take it home for disposal.

When walking or playing on beaches, check the area carefully for any signs of these well-camouflaged little birds and their nests. Should you be lucky enough to see one, STAY AWAY FROM IT! Enjoy looking at it through binoculars. Report your finding to the landowner or beach manager.

Contact Maine Audubon (www.maineaudubon.org) or your town office to be a volunteer Piping Plover monitor. They will appreciate your help!

Help IF&W’s efforts to protect Maine’s endangered and threatened species by purchasing a Conservation Loon Plate (www.myloonplate.com) and/or by contributing to the Chickadee Checkoff. Your financial support is greatly appreciated – and is critical to the future of Piping Plovers and other rare species in Maine.